FOXBORO — The Patriots held their sixth practice of camp Thursday afternoon, and fourth of the summer in pads. Here are a few quick notes on the session, which went for roughly two hours.

‘¢The following players were not spotted at the start of practice: offensive lineman Marcus Cannon and defensive lineman Armond Armstead. Wide receiver Mark Harrison and tight end Rob Gronkowski were on the field but not part of the workout.

‘¢As expected, rookie receiver Aaron Dobson was back on the field after missing Tuesday’s workout. Veteran receiver Julian Edelman was also back after being removed from PUP. Edelman appeared to have his usual shiftiness, and while conditioning might have been an issue, looked sharp otherwise in his first practice of the summer.

‘¢The offensive highlight of the day came toward the end of practice when quarterback Tom Brady and receiver Kenbrell Thompkins hooked up on a nice deep ball down the middle. Another good day for Thompkins (who also had a nice connection with Brady in 7-on-7 work), who appears to be bouncing back nicely from his struggles early in the week.

‘¢With no Cannon on the field, Tyronne Green appeared to get the majority of reps at right guard with the starting offensive line.

‘¢At one point, with the Patriots in what appeared to be a reasonable facsimile of their first-team defense, safety Adrian Wilson was playing down in the box as a linebacker, while Devin McCourty was working as a free safety and Steve Gregory was working as the strong safety spot.

‘¢While the two lead defensive tackles in the four-man front at this point are clearly Vince Wilfork and Tommy Kelly, Marcus Forston is starting to make a nice push to distinguish himself from the rest of the pack, and could be doing the best job of taking advantage of the fact that Armstead has yet to get on the field.

‘¢After jumping in the one-on-ones between the defensive linemen and offensive linemen, Rob Ninkovich, Jason Vega, Kelly and Forston all had to take penalty laps.

‘¢The Patriots utilized Tim Tebow in some non-traditional offensive sets over the course of the workout. Not sure how much of it was about getting ready for regular-season prep work and how much was about preparing for the various wrinkles presented by the Eagles, who New England will see next week in a series of joint practices. Regardless, it was fun to watch.